RICKY’S PREVIEWS • PICKS FOR SUNDAY AT THE U.S. OPEN TENNIS • INCLUDING RAFA• DELPO • ANDERSON VS. THIEM

Written by: Staff on 1st September 2018

RICKY'S PREVIEWS • PICKS FOR SUNDAY AT THE U.S. OPEN TENNIS • INCLUDING RAFA• DELPO • ANDERSON VS. THIEM

epa06988321 Rafael Nadal of Spain hits a return to Karen Khachanov of Russia during the fifth day of the US Open Tennis Championships the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 31 August 2018. The US Open runs from 27 August through 09 September. EPA-EFE/JOHN G. MABAGNGLO |

Rafael Nadal of Spain hits a return to Karen Khachanov of Russia during the fifth day of the US Open Tennis Championships the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 31 August 2018. The US Open runs from 27 August through 09 September. EPA-EFE/JOHN G. MABAGNGLO

By Ricky Dimon

Rafael Nadal will continue his U.S. Open campaign when he goes up against Nikoloz Basilashvili during fourth-round action on Sunday. Kevin Anderson vs. Dominic Thiem is also part of a marquee lineup.

Ricky previews three of the best matchups on Sunday and makes his predictions.

(9) Dominic Thiem vs. (5) Kevin Anderson

Anderson owns Thiem 6-1 in the head-to-head series. But it doesn’t take a genius to analyze their previous encounters and also this upcoming one. Anderson leads 6-0 on hard courts; Thiem is 1-0 on clay. It isn’t complicated.

On the bright side for Thiem, he has raised his level considerably through three rounds in Flushing Meadows from where it was earlier in the summer, while Anderson endured five-setters against both Ryan Harrison and Denis Shapovalov. Thiem will be able to make this one competitive. But winning it outright may be a different story.

Pick: Anderson in 4

(1) Rafael Nadal vs. Nikoloz Basilashvili

Nadal and Basilashvili will be squaring off for the second time in their careers on Sunday. Unless Basilashvili gets triple-bageled, he won’t do any worse than he did at the 2017 French Open–where he lost 6-0, 6-1, 6-0.

A hard court should provide a much better opportunity for the Georgian, and Nadal may also be less than 100 percent due to a knee issue while also coming off a four-set thriller against Karen Khachanov. Still, the Spaniard is the best player in the world right now (as the rankings indicate) and he should be able to get through this with relative ease if he is anywhere close to his best.

Pick: Nadal in 3

(3) Juan Martin Del Potro vs. (20) Borna Coric

All of these contests should be extremely high-quality, with everyone involved playing great tennis, but this is the one that is most intriguing from a stylistic perspective. It will feature a nice contrast between Del Potro’s hugepower and Coric’s counter-punching, and it will be interesting to see how the Argentine deals with the fact that his favorite shot (the inside-out forehand) feeds into Coric’s strength (the backhand).

An edge goes to Del Potro, who has not dropped as set through three matches at this USO and absolutely loves this event as a former champion (2009) and 2017 semifinalist.

Pick: Del Potro in 4